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It's a split decision.
Choose 3CX for system-based licensing and deployment choice: its Basic license starts at $300/year ($25/month equivalent), with hosting extra. Choose Dialpad for per-user plans and a broader voice-and-digital support stack: Connect Standard starts at $15/user/month and includes a 14-day trial. These are not like-for-like prices. 3CX licenses a system, while Dialpad charges per user; Dialpad's pricing toggle is unclear, and its agentic AI pricing is custom.
01Side by side
| 3CX | Dialpad | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $25/system/month equivalent; $300/year license; hosting extra | $15/user/month on Connect Standard |
| Free plan | No free plan listed | No free plan listed; 14-day trial |
| Best for | Teams wanting system-priced phone and contact-center software | Teams buying per-user support, sales, or collaboration tools |
| Core strength | Phone and contact-center features with flexible deployment | Voice, digital channels, AI agents, and workflows |
| Ease / learning curve | Ease-of-use score: 6/10; learning curve not published | Ease-of-use score: 7/10; learning curve not published |
| Integrations / data | Names Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Zendesk, and Freshdesk | CRM integrations listed; Support Premium includes reporting APIs |
| Team / seat costs | Per system, not per user; hosting costs extra | Per user/month; AI Agent Credit price not published |
| Support | Review support score: 4/10 | Connect Pro lists 24/7 support; review score: 4/10 |
3CX Choose 3CX if
- Choose 3CX if you prefer a flat annual license per system.
- Choose 3CX if you need hosted, self-hosted, or on-premise deployment.
- Choose 3CX if its named CRM integrations fit your stack.
Dialpad Choose Dialpad if
- Choose Dialpad if you want voice and digital support tools.
- Choose Dialpad if per-user pricing suits your team.
- Choose Dialpad if you want a 14-day trial.
02Pricing compared
3CX starts at $300/year for Basic, or $25/month equivalent, but that is a flat annual license fee per system—not a monthly bill per user. Pro starts at $395/year ($32.92/month equivalent), and AI at $575/year ($47.92/month equivalent). Hosting is separate: the pricing information lists $295–$1,995 per year where available, and some license sizes have no hosting option. Prices exclude tax or VAT.
Dialpad’s listed entry point is Connect Standard at $15 per user/month, with a 14-day trial. Connect Pro is $25 per user/month. Support plans start at $89 per user/month, while Sell starts at $39. The pricing page’s billing toggle is unclear, and annual rates are not published here; some tiers are annual-only. These prices are not directly comparable: one is per system, the other per user. Resolve Agentic AI is custom-priced, and AI credit prices are not published.
03Features and depth
Both products cover business calling and contact center work, but their emphasis differs. 3CX combines phone-system and contact center features with call routing, screening, transcription, sentiment analysis, and an AI receptionist or personal assistant. Its AI agents can provide 24/7 support, according to the published product information. It also connects with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Zendesk, and Freshdesk.
Dialpad brings voice, video, messaging, contact center, and digital channels into one platform. Its support plans list routing, AI transcripts and recaps, PII redaction, analytics, and—at higher tiers—coaching, quality management, or workforce management. Sales plans add tools such as Power Dialer and automated follow-up. Dialpad also offers voice and digital AI agents, but Resolve Agentic AI is custom-priced and credits cost extra at an unpublished rate. Choose 3CX for a phone system with flexible deployment; choose Dialpad if the listed mix of digital support, sales, and collaboration tools fits your needs.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The available review scores put 3CX at 6/10 for ease of use and Dialpad at 7/10. Those scores do not explain what users found difficult, so they are a signal, not a reliable forecast for your team.
3CX offers hosted, self-hosted, and on-premise deployment. That gives buyers a choice, but the published material does not say how much setup or administration each option requires. Dialpad describes voice, video, messaging, and AI in one app, which may suit teams seeking one workspace; its higher-tier support and sales tools add more capabilities to learn. Ask both vendors to map setup, administration, and migration to your existing systems before switching.
Questions people ask
What is a 3CX phone used for?
3CX is a business phone system and contact center platform. The published product information lists call routing, screening, transcription, AI receptionist tools, and contact center features. Businesses can choose hosted, self-hosted, or on-premise deployment, and the license is priced per system rather than per user.
What are some alternatives to Dialpad?
3CX is one alternative in this comparison. It combines business phone and contact center software, offers hosted, self-hosted, or on-premise deployment, and charges a flat annual license fee per system. Dialpad instead lists per-user plans across calling, sales, and support, with some AI services custom-priced.
How do you access 3CX call logs?
The published published material confirms 3CX offers call transcription, but it does not provide steps for opening call logs or identify where logs appear in the app. Check the 3CX documentation or ask your administrator for the correct instructions for your deployment and permissions.
Is Dialpad a VoIP provider?
The published product information describes Dialpad as a platform that includes voice, video, messaging, contact center, digital channels, and AI. It does not specifically define the service as VoIP, so we can confirm it offers voice calling, but not make a narrower technical claim from these sources alone.